Good morning and welcome back to the Tip Sheet, a weekly newsletter from Tom Dudchik’s Capitol Report written by Mike Cerulli.

This week, we’re breaking down the publicity the governor has attracted for his response to two very different developments in the last week.

Plus, how are Lamont’s opponents working to attract attention of their own?

Let’s dive in…

Lamont in response mode during an eventful week

Standing with his hands on his hips, a casually dressed Ned Lamont spoke at an emergency Saturday afternoon press conference in Waterbury. He was there to brief the public on the water main break that left the Brass City and some surrounding towns without service. Schools have been cancelled and a herculean effort has been mobilized to truck in enough potable drinking water to keep residents supplied while repair crews get to work.

For Lamont, the Saturday press conference was a throwback to an era when much of the state tuned in daily to hear his updates during the pandemic. The state's three main TV stations were all in attendance, and the stories on the response to the water main break was featured prominently in that evening's broadcasts.

The governor alluded to the pandemic in his remarks, recalling the long lines of cars that snaked around Rentschler Field at the height of testing, vaccination, and food distribution efforts.

The response to the Waterbury water main break was the second development Lamont had to be out front on in the past week. Last Thursday, the governor announced that he will spend $70 million in order to fend off the most pronounced impacts of the looming expiration of enhanced federal health insurance tax credits. 

The eight-figure measure will be drawn from the $500 million fund established via emergency legislation last month.

Lamont’s announcement on the healthy insurance subsidies was met with relatively minimal pushback from the legislature’s Republican leadership. Steve Harding, the Senate GOP leader, said he supports targeted spending to backfill the expiring tax credits. Vincent Candelora, the House GOP leader, issued a public statement that swiped at congressional Democrats but didn’t seem to oppose Lamont’s proposal.

All told, the water main break and the expiration of the health insurance subsidies both presented opportunities for the governor to be front and center in two successive local news cycles during a time of the year when it can be hard to sustain the public’s attention.

Fazio fights for attention with Christmas content push

Without the built-in benefits of gubernatorial incumbency, the field of challengers seeking to take on Lamont in next year’s election are getting a bit creative in their bids to win over the attention of the voters who will decide their fates.

Ryan Fazio, one of the two leading Republicans currently in the race for governor, took to social media to begin a series he’s billed “12 Days of Craziness in Connecticut.”

The concept is more or less self explanatory.

Fazio chose the theme of “revolving door criminal justice policy” to kick off his countdown to Christmas. Effectively, the Greenwich senator attacked the incumbent governor as soft on crime. The video found modest success on Instagram, notching more than 16,000 views on Instagram.

The second installment of Fazio’s “12 days” gimmick focused on, of all things, Connecticut’s Certificate of Need (CON) regulations for hospitals. Fazio portrayed the CON rules as an upward pressure on the cost of healthcare in Connecticut. That wonky video has garnered about 3,300 views on Instagram.

Each of Lamont’s three declared candidates have been experimenting with various concepts for social media engagement as they angle to take on the power of the incumbent’s pulpit.

Josh Elliott, Lamont’s sole Democratic challenger, has posted a series of short-form videos outlining the intricacies of the party endorsement process. 

Erin Stewart is using her platforms to make fundraising appeals in her signature laid back, explanatory style.

While the three candidates work to receive their public campaign finance grants, earned media is the best they’ll be able to get in the arena of public attention.

Three more reads to start your week

This year’s National Defense Authorization Act is full of provisions that affect Connecticut businesses. Lisa Hagen has a breakdown of the key inclusions in the 3,000-page bill.

A shocking murder suicide in Greenwich has triggered a lawsuit with potential impacts on the artificial intelligence industry. The family of the deceased female victim allege that the victim’s son was suffering paranoid delusions triggered in part by interactions with ChatGPT. The Associated Press has the disturbing story.

Have you ever heard of the Connecticut Christmas Tree Growers Association? If you haven’t, Jordan Nathaniel Fenster has a fascinating report on how the state’s Christmas tree growers and some leading scientists are addressing the impacts of climate change on the business. 

That’s all for this week. We’ll be back next week with another edition of the Tip Sheet!